Hackle pliers with locking means



Dec. 23, 1952 F. E. POETKER 2,622,462

HACKLE PLIERS WITH LOCKING MEANS Filed April 12, 1949 INVENTOR.

Patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HACKLE PLIERS WITH LOCKING MEANS Frank E. Poetker, Azusa, Calif.

Application April 12, 1949, Serial No. 86,993

4; Claims.

This invention relates to fishing tackle and accessories therefor, and particularly pertains to hackle pliers with locking means.

In attaching lead lines to fish-hooks and also in fitting fish-hooks for fly casting by attaching a hackle thereto, it is common practice to provide some means by which the hook may be held firmly during the attaching operations. Various types of clamping devices have been provided for this purpose, most of which are expensive and are complicated as to manufacture and operation. It is also common to provide pliers for holding the fish-hook but in actual practice it has been found that the pliers do not grip the fish-hook securely and will not remain in a gripping position. As a result the fish-hook may be pulled loose and may injure the operator or become entangled with clothing. Furthermore, when the fish-hook is not held firmly the thread or line may not'be properly manipulated or tied into position. It is the principal object of the present invention to provide pliers whichg-rip a fish-hook firmly, and also embodies the use of locking means to hold the pliers in a gripped position and permit the pliers to be easily and conveniently manipulated. It is also an object of the invention to embody line severing means in the plier construction.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a view in perspective showing the present invention with the pliers in a gripping position.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation showing the pliers and indicating particularly the manner in which the plier jaws are locked.

Fig. 3 is a top view showin the pliers with the jaws locked.

Fig. 4 is a top view showing the pliers with their locking member swung to an unlocked position, at which time a shearing action can take place.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in perspective showing the jaw portions of the pliers and with the jaws opened.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the lowermost jaw of the pliers with a fishing hook in position.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, ll] indicates a loop of spring metal. This loop carries arms H and 52 which stand normally parallel to each other. At the ends of the arms are portions bent toward each other, as indicated at i3 and M. These bent portions lie in a common plane substantially normal to the lengths of the arms. The metal from which the loop and arms is made is substantially fiat and has a suflicient width so that the end portions I 3 and I4 may overlap each other along a diagonal plane, as indicated at l5 in Fig. 5, and so that the collective width of the extensions 13 and M will substantially agree with the entire width of either of the arms H or I2. Due to this arrangement the portions [3 and M have opposite tapering sides which terminate in portions of reduced width. The extension 13 carries an upper jaw l6 and the extension it carries a lower jaw H1. The jaws are intended to lie parallel to each other and to move toward and away from each other while being maintained in substantially parallel planes. The upper jaw is formed with a perforation l8 to receive a pin l9 which passes through the loop of a hook 28 or another article to be held.

Mounted upon the upper arm I l is a lock member 2|. This lock member has a handle extension 22 at one end and a lock portion 23 at the opposite end. The member 2| and its portion 23 are designed to lie flat against the outermost surface of the arm II and the extension M where they are held in pivoted position by a pin 24. The end of the portion 23 is square, as indicated at 25, and swings into an abutting position against the upper jaw Hi. In this manner the upper jaw will be held in its clamped position relative to the lower jaw i'l when desired. It is also convenient when using this type of pliers to have some means whereby the liner thread may be cut. For that purpose shear blades 26 and 21 are formed on the edge of the upper arm H and the opposing edge of the lock member 2|. When the lock member 2| is swung in the direction of the arrow a, as indicated in Fig. 4, the thread or line may be sheared upon the blades 26 and 21.

In operation of the present invention the structure is made as shown in the drawings, and when it is desired to fasten a line or leader 28 to a fishing hook 26 or to apply hackle to a fish-hook, as indicated at 26, the loop portion of the hook is placed between the jaws l6 and El and is hooked around the pin l9 as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawing. It will be understood that the loop II of the plier-s is under spring tension and is biased to tend to move the arms H and 12 away from each other, and to thus pull the jaws I6 and I! against each other. When this is done the pin [9 will pass into the opening l8 and will provide positive engagement with the hook while the jaws press against the opposite sides of the pin and tend to hold it rigidly and in alignment with the faces of the jaws. If desired the surfaces of the jaws may be abraded to provide additional gripping action. It will be understood that the jaws are opened by pressing them together between the thumb and fingers of the hand. It may also be found convenient to place the pliers so that the second and third fingers pass through the loop in the pliers and so that the forefinger and thumb may be used to manipulate the thread or line. When pressure is relieved from the opposite arms of, the pliers the spring tension of the loop I ll will draw the pliers together, after which the lock member 2| may be swung into an aligned position with relation to the arm i l and with the end 25 in alignment with and abutting against the upper jaw IS. The two jaws l6 and ll will then be locked against separating movement with relation to each other, and the fish-hook or other article will be gripped firmly. In the event it is desired to sever a piece of line or thread, the lock member 22 may be swung so that the shearing bladeslfi and 21 are separated, as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing, after which the lock member 2! may be swung in the direction indicated by the arrow a in Fig. 4 to produce a shearing action.

It will thus be seen that the structure here disclosed is cheap to manufacture and simple in design, and that it provides means to easily lock 2. pair of gripping jaws in a set position and to quickly and conveniently release these jaws when desired.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention as now known to me, it will be understood that various changes may be made in combination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A pair of pliers or the like comprising a spring metal member bent upon itself to form a U-shaped end and a pair of parallel arms, said member being spring biased to urge the arms apart, the free ends of said arms being oppositely'recessed to facilitate their crossing each other and terminating in a pair of complementary parallel jaws, and means pivotally carried by one ofthe'arms and swingable into engagement with the jaw on the other arm for locking the jaws in their closed position.

2. An accessory for fishing tackle or the like comprising a pair of pliers formed by a flat piece of spring metal bent upon itself to provide a U- shaped portion and two extension arms lying in a common plane, said arms being oppositely recessed to facilitate their crossing each other near their free ends, a jaw carried upon the free end of each extension arm whereby the spring tension of the structure will act to force the jaws toward each other, and a locking lever pivotally carried by one of the arms and adapted to be moved into an obstructing position relative to the jaw on the other arm whereby the jaws will be held in their clamping position.

3. An accessory for fishing tackle or the like comprising a pair of hackle pliers formed of a fiatv piece of spring metal bent upon itself to provide a U-shaped portion and two extension arms lying in a common plane, inwardly turned ends on said extension arms having complementary tapered portions whereby the inner ends may pass each other when the arms are forced toward each other, jaws formed upon the free ends of said inwardly turned end portions and lyingparallel to each other and substantially parallel to the arms, and a lock member pivoted upon one of the arms and formed with an extension portion adapted to be moved into the path of travel of the jaw upon the opposing arm whereby the jaws will be locked together.

4. The structure of claim 3 including a pin projecting from the gripping face of one of said jaws, and a perforation in the opposite jaw to receive said pin.

FRANK E. POETKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 832,317 Hinds Oct. 2, 1906 1,025,362 Beuoy May 7, 1912 1,094,536 Davis Apr. 28, 1914 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 121,992 Switzerland Aug. 16, 1927 

